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ENGL40830: THE WRITING OF POETRY

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Open
Level 4
Credits 30
Availability Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department English Studies

Prerequisites

  • Students must hold a good BA degree in English or a related subject to be eligible for entry onto the MA in English Literary Studies.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To familiarize students with the formal, generic and technical conventions and properties of poetry, in their historical context.
  • To enable students to relate these conventions and properties to issues of poetic composition, such as poetic 'voice', originality, imagination, and expressiveness.
  • To enable students to enter into and understand the technical / formal choices made by poets as they write.

Content

  • Seminars covering the forms, genres and conventions of poetry, in their historical context.
  • Seminars covering the technical properties of poetry, such as imagery, rhythm, rhyme, diction, syntax; and related issues such as 'formal' versus 'free' verse, and poetic 'voice'.
  • These seminars will be based on an anthology, such as The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, eds. Mark Strand and Eavan Boland (New York: Norton, 2000

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • The student will be expected to demonstrate specialised and advanced knowledge of forms, techniques and methods involved in writing poetry.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • An advanced ability to analyse poetry critically.

Key Skills:

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Seminars covering the formal, generic and technical conventions and properties of poetry will enable students to develop critical skills in the close reading and analysis of poetic texts in preparation for the production of their summative essays.
  • Two 3,000 word summative essays will assess the students' ability to think critically about poetic texts, in relation to such matters as formal conventions and imaginative expressiveness, and entering into and understanding the technical / formal choices made by poets as they write.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Seminars9Fortnightly218Yes
Independent student research supervised by the Module Convenor10 
Consultation session115 minutes0.25Yes
Preparation and Reading271.75 
Total300 

Summative Assessment

Component: Two EssaysComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Assessed essay 12,000 words40
Assessed essay 23,000 words60

Formative Assessment

More information

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